£55,940 - £59,715 (Bar at £58,498) per annum pro rata
Applicants must have existing right to work in the UK, as visa sponsorship is not available for this position.
When it comes to your career, the idea of climbing the corporate ladder might seem like the ultimate goal. But does career progression always have to mean stepping into a full time management role? Not necessarily. We’ve created the perfect balance. Our newly re-profiled roles are designed in direct response to valuable feedback about how to progress your career beyond Senior Lawyer and positive feedback from our colleagues in the Legal Service where Technical Roles already exist.
We’ve also listened to our clients and considered the changing business needs in our specialist area of work. Unlike before, when advancement meant choosing either a full time management-focused path or switching to an alternative role, this innovative position empowers experienced child care lawyers to step forward—gaining hands-on management experience while continuing as a technical specialist. It’s the best of both worlds: professional growth without sacrificing the work you love. This unique opportunity sets us apart from other local authorities, and opens a door that’s rarely available elsewhere. These Principal Lawyer Technical Specialist roles will sit in the Public Law Sub Group of the Children & Families Legal Group.
At the heart of everything we do is:
- the safety and needs of children
- high-quality representation of Children’s Services.
There is little else in life graver than a parent or carer losing a child from their care. How do we do this emotionally demanding work? It’s through teamwork – working together, trusting each other, combining our experience, and sharing our knowledge and expertise to get the right result.
We support each other, laugh, interact, problem-solve and have difficult conversations. This promotes deep learning and a strong sense of belonging and common purpose, creating effective mutual relationships that achieve our team’s goals. We feed on one another’s contagious enthusiasm for our projects with a dynamic team spirit made possible by the synergism between us all.
Put your legal experience to work for Manchester.
About the Candidate:★ Are your skills and legal mind being rewarded?
★ Do you work together as part of a supportive team?
★ Is your work wide-ranging and varied?
★ Are you achieving your goals?
Be part of our ongoing incredible journey.
Why work with us? We offer our lawyers flexible start and finish times with an effective hybrid working-practice model. There’s opportunity for development and variety thanks to the way our teams practise in our Lexcel-accredited and supported legal service.
Legal work for public services in Manchester and Salford Councils and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority puts you among the few practitioners in England’s first, and biggest, devolved region, where major decisions are now taken in-house rather than in Whitehall and by NHS administrations.
If practising in a supportive public service legal team is the right cultural fit for you, please get in touch for an informal discussion.
Experience and knowledge of the law in relation to the following areas would be desirable:
- Public and Administrative Law
- Local Government Law
To arrange an informal discussion on these roles please contact Jonathan Broad, Assistant Director, Legal & Democratic Services, Children & Families Legal Services by email at jonathan.broad@manchester.gov.uk
Please apply using the online form via the button below and include your anonymised Curriculum Vitae and detailed Expression of Interest setting out how your skills and experience meet the role profile.
Closing date: 10 May 2026
For further information or to apply, please click on the 'Enquire/Apply' button below.
